A dear friend once told me how exciting life with Jesus is. He lives his life with a constant jaunt in his step as he waits for what new adventure God will direct his way! When we are open to the unexpected and to the adventures of a live with God, we just never know where we will be called to serve.
One of our grade 11 outreach teams had planned on travelling to Asia in March. On Jan. 20, we raised over $1, 300 with the hot dog day/bake sale for sports’ equipment for The Lighthouse Centre. Thank you!! We hope to still have the opportunity to send this money to the TLC.
But due to the unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus and the Canadian government’s travel advisory, we needed to cancel our plans on January 30. This left us only five weeks to come up with an alternative and to complete all necessary travel plans in a very short amount of time!
Despite the stress we were feeling, God already had a plan in mind. Over the weekend, the leaders met to investigate several potential and realistic options including a First Nations reserve in Saskatchewan, an ESL ministry in Japan, a ministry in Ethiopia, local ministries in the lower mainland and Impact Ministries in Guatemala. We spent two evenings considering the options that had been laid before us. We were so grateful for so many dedicated Christians eager to help us organize an impactful journey in just a few short weeks.
After much prayer and deliberation, we are excited to partner with Impact Ministries http://www.impactministries.ca/. They were able to accommodate our group, have years of experience hosting school groups and have a very similar itinerary planned as we had originally hoped to do in Asia that take into account the students’ interests and gifts.
Now that the destination was decided, was it going to be feasible to pull together everything needed for 20 people to travel in only four weeks? Again, we marveled at God’s planning! Tickets were purchased, forms were distributed and collected, donations & funds were submitted: all within two days!! The impossible just became possible!
As the John Knox Christian Community, we are asking you to partner with us in the final weeks. First, we need your prayers for:
• Health and safety (before, during and after the trip)
• An impact on the lives of our students and the lives of those we meet along the way and in Guatemala
• Donations of specific items for the ministry projects we will be doing
– leading crafts/games/worship for groups of 75 children
– visiting hospitals to pray over the sick children, celebrate with new moms and mourn with grieving parents
– bless the missionary staff and Christian school teachers in Guatemala
(Classes have been invited to sign up for specific items; we would so appreciate your help in collecting these items by Friday, Feb. 21)
Thank you for your prayers and for your support; it has been quite a journey and we haven’t even left yet! (We leave March 5 and return March 15)
Mrs. Yvonne DeWith, on behalf of the re-directed Guatemala Team and Leaders (Y. DeWith, A. DeWith, J. Duncan, D. Lund, J. Lund, J. Poon)
